Analysis of zwitterionic, cationic, and anionic poly- and perfluoroalkyl surfactants in sediments by liquid chromatography polarity-switching electrospray ionization coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry

Abstract A new analytical method is proposed for the determination of a wide span of fluoroalkylated surfactants (PFASs) of various chain lengths and polarities in sediments, including newly-identified compounds such as zwitterionic and cationic PFASs. Extraction conditions were optimized so as to maintain a common preparation procedure for all analytes (recovery range: 60–110%). Instrumental analysis was performed with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to Orbitrap mass spectrometry through polarity-switching electrospray ionization. Calibration curves with excellent coefficients of determination ( R 2 >0.994) were generally obtained over 0.002–10 ng g −1 dry weight (dw) and limits of detection were in the range 0.0006–0.46 ng g −1 dw. Intra-day precision remained